The best teachers move mountains for their students every day. Sometimes, as in the case of Amber Holz, they also move playgrounds.
Holz is a Kindergarten teacher at Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools, a growing school district in Nebraska sandwiched between the larger cities of Omaha and Lincoln. She’s also a member of the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Leadership Cadre.
This group, led by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, is building the leadership skills of early childhood professionals from across the state. Over the past three years, Cadre members have been designing and implementing impact projects to help solve an early childhood-related need in their community.
Holz didn’t have to look far to find a project.
In early 2023, the Ashland-Greenwood district opened a new primary school for preschool through Grade 2, freeing up much-needed classroom space for older elementary students at the intermediate school and providing more capacity at the primary level.
Those third, fourth, and fifth graders had their own playground, and had little use for the smaller play equipment left behind when the younger grades moved out. The sight of the unused playground gnawed at Holz every time she passed it.
Curious, she asked the intermediate principal about the district’s plans for the equipment.
The principal wanted the playground gone. She had big ideas for the space, including tables and an outdoor classroom.
Holz hated to see a perfectly good playground sit empty, or worse, end up in a landfill. Buying and installing playground equipment is expensive, ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to more than $100,000 depending on the size and design.
And it turns out, there was another preschool program in town missing one key element for its students: a playground.
St. Mary Church operates a popular preschool program that serves nearly half the preschoolers in Ashland, including, at one point, Holz’s two children. Holz remembers her husband lamenting the program’s lack of outdoor play space after a parent-teacher conference. There was a grassy area, but no structures for climbing and playing.
She approached the superintendent of her district: couldn’t they figure out a way to repurpose the playground and donate it to the St. Mary preschool?
“Why not seize the moment, the opportunity, and the equipment and do what's best for kids?” Holz said.
Ashland-Greenwood Superintendent Jason Libal didn’t need much convincing.
“’This is a no-brainer,’” he said, according to Holz. “‘These kids come to us in the next year or two. We want them thriving in preschool.’”
Support for the public-private project grew among Holz’s principal, the school board, and, crucially, Father Robert Matya, the new priest at St. Mary and a supporter of early learning.
“He has just been one of the hidden gems in the story behind all of this,” Holz said.
The group worked with a local contractor, Dostal’s Construction, to figure out the logistics of moving a playground roughly 1 mile away. Even with the donated equipment, it would still cost an estimated $27,000 for the relocation, surface materials, and fencing.
Each Cadre member received $1,000 for their community impact project through the generosity of the Holland Foundation and could pitch for additional funding. After Holz presented and was granted additional funding, $1,000 was also donated to the Ashland-Greenwood Intermediate School to show gratitude and help support their outdoor classroom.
Her group then raised more than $9,000 from parishioners, community donors, and foundations, including a local dentist, the Calvin Legacy Foundation, and Zig Kids. After donations were collected, Matya decided that the church’s preschool fund could cover the rest.
“I don't take credit for this being my project,” Holz said. “This was a community project, and everybody was on board, and people showed up out of the blue.”
By mid-September, the playground moved to St. Mary Preschool. Holz loves to see kids from the preschool, church, and community playing on the equipment and pretending to serve food from a play snack shack. There’s also a quiet prayer corner with a bench and child-sized statue of St. Mary.
“Now they are able to use their whole body to climb the stairs and rock wall of the structure,” said Tanya Keith, the preschool director. “This project is a great example of the beauty of small-town living and how the community supports each other and the needs of the community ... I think the residents of Ashland see the value of St. Mary Preschool and were eager to support our program.”
Holz said her fellow Cadre members cheered her on through doubts and setbacks. The early childhood education field faces a host of challenges, including a lack of funding and teacher turnover. Repurposing the playground felt like a tangible win.
“I see the smiles, I hear the laughter, and that problem is solved,” Holz said. “We can check that one off.”
Erin Duffy is the managing editor at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and writes about early childhood issues that affect children, families, educators, and communities. Previously, she spent more than a decade covering education stories and more for daily newspapers.